The Game Changer
by Captain Kork
Summary: WestAllen AU: Iris and Barry confess their feelings for each other when they are still in high school. Joe isn't exactly ready to have two hormonal teenagers (who are in a /relationship/) under the same roof. He can feel his hair turning gray.


**Annddd a random Westallen fic I wrote and edited today based on a tumblr post I made. Before anyone asks, yes I may write a sequel (their relationship from one of their POVs) but I'm not sure when or if that'll for sure happen. **

**Warnings: (sort of) Implied sexual shenanigans**

* * *

Joe had known that Barry had feelings for Iris as long as he had known the kid. From that very first afternoon, when Iris bounced over to him at the end of her first day of 2nd grade, eager to introduce him to her new best friend- he saw the blush and star struck gaze as the boy was dragged behind his exuberant daughter

When he took the child into his home, he wondered vaguely how it would all work out when they were older, as it was three years later and the star struck gaze showed no signs of fading. However, he was more concerned with making sure Barry was okay after he watched his mother get killed in front of him. Time passed quickly and he began to see Barry as a son and not just his daughter's best friend, but it was quite obvious that his two children never thought of each other as siblings.

Middle school was over in the blink of an eye and they started high school with no sign of anything changing aside from the arrival of zits and hormones. Barry never said anything to Iris and she never showed any sign of knowing, so Joe began to assume that it would be ages before either of them made a move (which just meant more time for him to mentally prepare himself). By the time something did happen, the summer before their senior year, he had been convinced that Barry wouldn't fess up until at least graduation (especially when they went to Junior Prom together and the poor kid chickened out). He wasn't looking for the signs and completely missed it for several weeks.

Honestly, he might have never figured it out if he hadn't walked in on them giggling together in the kitchen. At first, he was ready to berate them (as when the two of them entered a kitchen together (i.e. every Father's day) it ended in disaster and a lot of cleaning) but something stopped him.

The pair was always overly affectionate with each other, but it was different this time, he observed. Iris had always been free with her touch, her fingers often finding Barry's face, Barry's hair, poking him in the side, in the stomach, or in the back. Barry's touches were more cautious, more thought out. He felt free to hug her with all of his might and to throw an arm around her shoulders as they walked. If he was challenged it wasn't uncommon for disputes to get physical and for them to end up wrestling on the ground instead of bickering- another thing that hadn't faded with age (actually it probably got worse as they got older). However, he was careful where he rested his hand; he never let it slide too far down her back and was wary to even put his hand on her knee. His hand hesitated awkwardly on her hip in all of their photos from prom.

Watching his kids now, Joe noticed how utterly careless they were when they touched each other. The hand that Iris trailed down Barry's back as he reached above her head to pluck the flour off the top shelf of the pantry. The way Barry's fingers grazed her exposed collar bone as he reached around her again for a bowl. The assured grip he had on her waist as he spun her out of his way when he realized that she wasn't going to be of any help.

Joe backed out of the kitchen and decided that he would leave them be for the moment. He pretended he didn't hear Iris's laughter get cut off suddenly, and didn't return to the kitchen when he heard one of the plastic mixing bowls clatter to the floor (though he did yell back that nothing better be broken).

It wasn't until dinner that he brought it up. They thought they were being subtle, shooting each other glances from across the table but now that Joe was in the know, it was the most obvious thing he'd ever seen- and he was a cop, he dealt with criminals on a daily basis who half the time had no clue how bad they were at lying.

"So, is there something you two want to tell me?" Joe asked, breaking the relative silence as he took another bite of his dinner. The two teenagers froze and the cop knew he had caught them off guard.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Iris said after a moment, her fingers twitching nervously in her lap as she tried to look him in the eye. He raised an eyebrow at her and waited.

"IrisandIaredating," Barry burst out, giving an apologetic look to his girlfriend. Iris sighed as both she and Joe had known that the boy would crack as soon as he was confronted.

"How long?" Joe asked, taking another bite of his food, retaining a casual air.

"Almost 3 weeks," Iris admitted as she looked down at her plate.

"Look, I don't care that you two are dating- I thought Barry was going to ask you out at Junior Prom. It was always expected," he told them and in unison they turned to stare at him with wide eyes, "But the rules in this house are changing now, got it? Unlike most kids your age, you guys lives together- that doesn't give you free reign to do whatever."

"Yes, sir," the young couple chorused as they had many times before.

"There will be no more closed doors when you're in each other's bedrooms and if you want to have a movie night or whatever you have to do it in the living room," Joe continued, setting down his fork so he could focus on them, "Your curfew when you are out together stays the same but I will be holding you to that curfew- no more grace period. And be honest with me right now- do we need to have another _talk_." He stressed the last word and Barry almost knocked his glass over, leaving him to scramble to catch it as his entire face and neck turned red.

"_Dad_," Iris hissed, covering her face with her hand as her boyfriend continued to sputter across from her.

"I have to ask," Joe pointed out, shrugging carelessly, secretly a little amused and a little relieved at both of their reactions.

"We're not- I'm not- we just- I-" Barry tried to force out before Joe held up his hand to stop him.

"Bear, don't hurt yourself, I get it," he said, shaking his head, "That aside, you guys understand the new rules? Don't expect me to be as lenient as I was before."

"He was lenient before?" he saw Iris mouth at Barry, thinking that the man was still looking at his son.

"Trust me, I was lenient before," he told her sharply and she jumped guiltily, "Do you both understand?"

"Yes, sir," they parroted again and Joe sighed.

"Finish your dinner."

Joe would love to say nothing changed after that night and in some ways nothing did. Barry and Iris still got into petty fights over which super hero would win in a bar fight and whether or not it was likely that aliens had built the pyramids. They still made a terrible mess in the kitchen and helped each other with their homework (though Joe noticed that it often took longer for any homework to get finished than before but for the sake of his health he decided not to say anything).

In other less obvious ways somethings did. Whenever they went out just the two of them, Iris tended to spend more time on her hair and Barry on his outfit, while Joe was left to grumble and shoot disapproving looks from the couch as they raced out the door. When they came back in, giggling and holding each other close, pressing kisses onto each other's cheeks and hair as they continued to whisper the same way they probably had all night, Joe was still perched on the couch with one eye on the TV and the other on the clock.

He worried about what went on when he wasn't home but, aside from calling them every hour to check on them, there wasn't much he could do. As weeks turned into months, he found himself relaxing a bit. He still held them to their strict curfew and his other rules, but he stopped checking in on them every five minutes and stopped lurking in the kitchen or dining room whenever they decided they wanted a movie night (which meant he also got less pillows tossed his way courtesy of Iris whenever she felt he was checking in _too_ much).

By the time winter break hit, their relationship didn't even cross his mind when he got to go home early after finishing his paperwork in record time (along with the fact that crime always went down when it was cold). He whistled a carol as he opened the door and shook the snow off of his coat, not paying attention to much else. Just as he was about to call out for his kids he heard a muffled laugh from the living room. He turned and nearly dropped his coat.

At first he could only see Barry's back but as he took a step closer he realized that the teen was leaning over Iris. They were lip locked, their eyes barely open and utterly focused on each other. Normally this wouldn't bother him (or at least he'd be unlikely to say anything and just make a quick retreat instead) if it wasn't for the fact that Barry's hand had disappeared under Iris's dress. It didn't take Joe long to realize what was going on.

"The _hell_ do you think you're doing?" he cried out and the couple sprang apart like they'd been shocked. Barry fell off the couch in his haste to get off of Iris and she jolted back so fast she smacked her head on the arm rest.

"Joe!" Barry said nervously as he peaked over the couch cushions up at his father figure, "You're home early." His voice cracked midway through the sentence and he seemed disinclined to move from his spot on the floor. Iris had sat up as well, alternating between rubbing the top of her head and smoothing out her dress with shaking fingers.

"Wasn't much to do, looks like everyone is on holiday," Joe told him, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his kids, "Now I think we have a talk that's long over do." The couple glanced at each other and he motioned for them to stand up. They did so, Iris tugging at the hem of her dress and Barry brushing the dust off of his jeans (at least that better be why he was wiping his hands on his pants). "Dining room." Joe pointed at the table.

"Yes, sir," they chorused, trading panicked and mortified looks. Joe decided in that moment that he probably needed a shot before he had this conversation. He wasn't looking forward to this at all.


End file.
